Harry Potter and the Jade Heart
Chapter 18
"Alone"
"NO!" Harry cried out. That's all he could do since the flames were wide and green. They flickered between him and Cho, who still had color in her cheeks so she couldn't have been dead. "Why?" he asked, panicking. He searched for things to say let alone do.
"Harry," Voldemort said, with a condescending sympathy, "you keep asking all the wrong questions."
"What do you want from me?" he asked, trying to make some kind of compromise for Cho's life.
"Anything I want I can take. I don't need a weak child like yourself to hand me anything."
Harry looked to Hermione. He tried pleading with her. "Please, Hermione, whatever it is I did, I'm sorry. Please, Hermione! This isn't worth anything!"
Hermione lifted off her hood and looked at Harry intently. "It's worth more to me than you'll ever know." Then Draco stepped forward and put his arm around Hermione's shoulders. Hermione grasped his hand. They both gave Harry a smug look.
A huge chunk of Harry's heart dropped to the ground like a sack of a thousand gold galleons. Harry was so stressed out now. Hermione and Draco? He felt a pressure rise up behind his eyes. "He hates muggleborns," he said through gritted teeth.
"Turns out Granger and I have more in common than I thought," Draco said, tauntingly. "Who knew a mudblood could be evil enough to be a death eater?" Draco changed his expression to that of pity. "Aw. I thought you would have figured out by now, Potter, our new goal has been to torture you and those you care about. Well, unless they decide to join us like Granger here." He nodded his head towards Hermione. "Looks like I'm just the better man."
"When did this happen?"
"Over the summer," Hermione said, lazily.
"You were with Krum all summer."
Hermione smiled. "Was I?"
A thought suddenly struck Harry. "Where's Ron?" he demanded.
"Oh. You want to see Ron?" Hermione broke away from Draco and took out her wand. Harry wanted to say something, but he felt too sick from imagining what was about to happen. Hermione looked at Voldemort, who gave her an approving look. She pointed her wand to the area beside Harry, and with a crack Ron appeared. He went completely white from what he saw before him. His mouth hung open in a scared sort of shocked expression. Harry touched Ron's arm, and he snapped back to reality.
"What's going on?" Ron asked, shaking.
Before Harry could answer him, Hermione said, "Oh, Ro-on." He turned his attention to her. "I have something for you as well." She did the same motion Voldemort did before and on the ground appeared Dean. Ron's mouth went back to hanging open.
Harry found his strength again. "You leave Ron and Dean out of this!" he said, angrily. "This is only between me and Voldemort."
"NO!" Hermione screamed, dropping her cool exterior. She now looked frantic and full of rage. "This" -- she pointed at Ron, Harry, and Dean -- "is about me!"
"How is Dean involved at all?" asked Harry, still with the same amount of anger as before.
"Because of him!" She pointed her wand at Ron. "You left me!" she said to both of them. "How could you do that to me?!" Hermione said, shrilly. "You call yourselves my friends. Where were you?!"
"When? When did I ever leave you?"
"You both left me," she said, darkly, which to Harry seemed a bit worse. He wished she was still screaming. She looked up towards the sky for a moment and scoffed. When she looked back down, Harry saw a tear run down her cheek. "For one moment did you wonder how anyone else felt? You know, all the bad things that have happened to you since you found out you were a wizard...you didn't experience ANY of that alone. But yet you don't seem to care how anyone else feels. You weren't alone in the third corridor, were you? You didn't find that chamber alone. You did not go through the last five years by yourself, but if anyone asked you, that's how it probably would sound. You aren't the only one who suffers, but you seem to think so."
"That is not fair. I do care about how you feel. I've always cared."
"Don't you lie to me!" she screamed. "I put on a happy face at the end of last year. But I was worried about you. I kept thinking about what you must have been going through after something like that. I wanted to be there for you. And you left me!"
"I don't understand. Why do you keep saying that?"
"I kept sending you letters. All you could say was that you were fine. Why didn't you confide in me?"
Harry was wondering how that could be interpreted as leaving her. "I just wanted to be left alone."
"And I wanted you to talk to me! Geez, Harry. Is everything only about what you want? I needed you to talk to me! I needed you and you left me!"
Harry suddenly realized what it was that Hermione was so hysterical about. "I think you're overreacting a bit." Harry realized he shouldn't have said that after it came out.
"You couldn't possibly begin to know what it was I went through. You will never know."
Harry looked at her. "I don't see how being angry with me could bring you to Voldemort's side."
"I was by myself. And instead of my two best friends helping me, even after I kept offering to help them, Draco came to my side. And, well, you can clearly see the result."
Harry tried to take in what she just said. "It's a trick," he said, as though he just realized it. "It's a trick! He's just using you! Why else would he have just appeared when you needed him--" Appeared when you needed him? Hermione had been in a weak state. "You -- you have the Jade Heart."
All the death eaters laughed at this. "Don't be stupid, Harry," said Hermione. She stepped up to the flames and looked Harry in the eyes. "You only wish I had a Jade Heart."
Chapter 18
"Alone"
"NO!" Harry cried out. That's all he could do since the flames were wide and green. They flickered between him and Cho, who still had color in her cheeks so she couldn't have been dead. "Why?" he asked, panicking. He searched for things to say let alone do.
"Harry," Voldemort said, with a condescending sympathy, "you keep asking all the wrong questions."
"What do you want from me?" he asked, trying to make some kind of compromise for Cho's life.
"Anything I want I can take. I don't need a weak child like yourself to hand me anything."
Harry looked to Hermione. He tried pleading with her. "Please, Hermione, whatever it is I did, I'm sorry. Please, Hermione! This isn't worth anything!"
Hermione lifted off her hood and looked at Harry intently. "It's worth more to me than you'll ever know." Then Draco stepped forward and put his arm around Hermione's shoulders. Hermione grasped his hand. They both gave Harry a smug look.
A huge chunk of Harry's heart dropped to the ground like a sack of a thousand gold galleons. Harry was so stressed out now. Hermione and Draco? He felt a pressure rise up behind his eyes. "He hates muggleborns," he said through gritted teeth.
"Turns out Granger and I have more in common than I thought," Draco said, tauntingly. "Who knew a mudblood could be evil enough to be a death eater?" Draco changed his expression to that of pity. "Aw. I thought you would have figured out by now, Potter, our new goal has been to torture you and those you care about. Well, unless they decide to join us like Granger here." He nodded his head towards Hermione. "Looks like I'm just the better man."
"When did this happen?"
"Over the summer," Hermione said, lazily.
"You were with Krum all summer."
Hermione smiled. "Was I?"
A thought suddenly struck Harry. "Where's Ron?" he demanded.
"Oh. You want to see Ron?" Hermione broke away from Draco and took out her wand. Harry wanted to say something, but he felt too sick from imagining what was about to happen. Hermione looked at Voldemort, who gave her an approving look. She pointed her wand to the area beside Harry, and with a crack Ron appeared. He went completely white from what he saw before him. His mouth hung open in a scared sort of shocked expression. Harry touched Ron's arm, and he snapped back to reality.
"What's going on?" Ron asked, shaking.
Before Harry could answer him, Hermione said, "Oh, Ro-on." He turned his attention to her. "I have something for you as well." She did the same motion Voldemort did before and on the ground appeared Dean. Ron's mouth went back to hanging open.
Harry found his strength again. "You leave Ron and Dean out of this!" he said, angrily. "This is only between me and Voldemort."
"NO!" Hermione screamed, dropping her cool exterior. She now looked frantic and full of rage. "This" -- she pointed at Ron, Harry, and Dean -- "is about me!"
"How is Dean involved at all?" asked Harry, still with the same amount of anger as before.
"Because of him!" She pointed her wand at Ron. "You left me!" she said to both of them. "How could you do that to me?!" Hermione said, shrilly. "You call yourselves my friends. Where were you?!"
"When? When did I ever leave you?"
"You both left me," she said, darkly, which to Harry seemed a bit worse. He wished she was still screaming. She looked up towards the sky for a moment and scoffed. When she looked back down, Harry saw a tear run down her cheek. "For one moment did you wonder how anyone else felt? You know, all the bad things that have happened to you since you found out you were a wizard...you didn't experience ANY of that alone. But yet you don't seem to care how anyone else feels. You weren't alone in the third corridor, were you? You didn't find that chamber alone. You did not go through the last five years by yourself, but if anyone asked you, that's how it probably would sound. You aren't the only one who suffers, but you seem to think so."
"That is not fair. I do care about how you feel. I've always cared."
"Don't you lie to me!" she screamed. "I put on a happy face at the end of last year. But I was worried about you. I kept thinking about what you must have been going through after something like that. I wanted to be there for you. And you left me!"
"I don't understand. Why do you keep saying that?"
"I kept sending you letters. All you could say was that you were fine. Why didn't you confide in me?"
Harry was wondering how that could be interpreted as leaving her. "I just wanted to be left alone."
"And I wanted you to talk to me! Geez, Harry. Is everything only about what you want? I needed you to talk to me! I needed you and you left me!"
Harry suddenly realized what it was that Hermione was so hysterical about. "I think you're overreacting a bit." Harry realized he shouldn't have said that after it came out.
"You couldn't possibly begin to know what it was I went through. You will never know."
Harry looked at her. "I don't see how being angry with me could bring you to Voldemort's side."
"I was by myself. And instead of my two best friends helping me, even after I kept offering to help them, Draco came to my side. And, well, you can clearly see the result."
Harry tried to take in what she just said. "It's a trick," he said, as though he just realized it. "It's a trick! He's just using you! Why else would he have just appeared when you needed him--" Appeared when you needed him? Hermione had been in a weak state. "You -- you have the Jade Heart."
All the death eaters laughed at this. "Don't be stupid, Harry," said Hermione. She stepped up to the flames and looked Harry in the eyes. "You only wish I had a Jade Heart."